East Valley Conclusion 



with the thick oil from the upper bed already 

 mentioned. 



On penetrating the shale for a further 30 feet, 

 there was a considerable escape of gas under high 

 pressure, which warned the men to clear out of the way. 

 They had just time to haul out the drill when the gas 

 was followed by a gush of oil which spouted 30 feet 

 into the air. This continued for two days before it was 

 possible to get it under control, and by that time not 

 only was our tank full, but about a million gallons had 

 run to waste down the valley. 



Large samples of the oil were collected, and these 

 we took down to Lyell with us, so that they might be 

 examined by experts with a view to determining what 

 type of refinery plant would be most suitable. In the 

 meantime boring operations were suspended until such 

 time as arrangements could be made to deal with the oil 

 produced. 



We found on our return to Lyell that our salt works 

 had just commenced to put their products on the market, 

 and that they were turning out a very good quality of 

 salt. 



We next visited the Hermitage Coalfield and found 

 that three mines had been started and were all yielding 

 good quality coal, though as yet only in small quantities, 

 as the necessary plant for dealing with a large output 

 had not yet arrived on the scene. 



Of considerable importance was the discovery of a 

 seam of clay-ironstone and several beds of fire-clay, 

 a commodity which was absent from the Coal Hill beds. 



As the result of these additions to the products of 

 the country Geologica would soon be producing its own 



297 



